182 W. Irvine— Later Mughals (1707-1803). [No. 2, 
Khan, Ghalib Jang, and as some say received a promise of the wazir- 
ship.! One of the most notable of these accessions was that of Sidisht 
Narayan, son of Dhir, a powerful zamindar of the Bhojpur country 
in Shahabad.? The Ujainiyah clan to which he belonged had long 
claimed practical independence and had never paid its revenue unless 
upon compulsion. In the reign of ‘Alamgir, Rajah Ridar, descended in 
the fifth generation from the first Ujainiyah rajah of Bhéjpur, had risen 
to notoriety and was joined by most of the neighbouring zamindars. In 
consequence of his rebellion against constituted authority he was 
deposed, and the chiefship given to his brother, ancestor of the present 
Jagdispur and Dumraon houses in that parganah. During ‘Alamgir’s 
long absence in the Dakhin, the governors and faujdars left the 
zamindars alone. Dhir, a distant cousin of the Rajah, descended in the 
sixth generation from the same ancestor, used this opportunity, seized 
many zamindaris, and maintained a force of about 14,000 horse and 
30,000 foot. When prince ‘Azimu-sh-shan was governor at Patnah, 
this zamindar attended hiscourt. A settlement had nearly been effected 
when Dhir became alarmed and escaped. Rajah Dhir died of fever in 
the year 1712. Sidisht Narayan, his second but eldest surviving son, 
who had only recently succeeded, had already begun a dispute with 
Husain ‘Ali Khan’s subordinates. To enforce his claims he had come 
with a large armed force and was encamped at Hajipur, on the further 
side of the Ganges from Patnah city. He talked of plundering the 
country. Ahmad Bég was sent to him to induce him either to offer his 
services or retire from the position he had taken up. Ahmad Bég’s 
eloquence persuaded him to accept service, bringing with him 10,000 
horse and 30,000 matchlockmen. 
1 Yahya Khan, 119 6, and see biography in Mu-l-u. II, 869. A man was intro- 
duced by him, whose name I read as Masl (or perhaps Fazl) Khan (Ijad, 41 6), who 
was made A‘zam Khan and first Bakhsh?. But he was superseded by the Sayyads 
and Khwajah A‘sim (Khan Dauran) almost as soon as appointed ; his appointment 
as Bakhshi was taken away on the 15th Zu-l-qa‘dh (13th Dec., 1712) and I know 
not what became of him. 
2 I am able to identify this man and his family through a paper, for which 
I am indebted to the courtesy of Rai Bahadur Jai Pargash Lal, C. I. E., d2wén to the 
Maharajah of Dumraon, K. C. 1. H.: it was procured for me by the kind offices of 
G. A. Grierson, Esq.,C. I. E. Dhir (b. 1655, d. 1712) held as his ancestral fief 
Baranwa in parganah Piru, sirkar Shahabad (Piru town is about 32 m. S. E. of 
Arrah). On the 11th April 1715 O. S. the English envoys on passing through Arwal 
(a town about 40 m. S.-W. of Patnah, in Thanah Jahanabad of the Gaya district, 
and close to the bank of the Stn) remark ‘this is the place where Sedisti naran has 
a strong fort and good guard.’ Piru is about 20 m. W. of Arwal and on the other 
side of the Son. 
8 Tjad, 61 a., 63 b. ; Khafi Khan, II, 712. 
